A Very Bad Day
by SageK
Summary: Set in the girl!Ryan genderswap 'verse started in This Is So Wrong.


From the moment Kevin Ryan trudged into the bullpen, it was clear something was wrong. Starting with the fact that he didn't have any of his usually boundless enthusiasm for whatever had caught his attention on the way in. Even from across the room, it was clear that he was even paler than usual and moving slowly, like everything ached.

He didn't say hello, he didn't smile, he didn't make a beeline for the break room to see what pastries were left. No, he just sat at his desk wrapped his arms around his middle and folded in half, letting his head rest on the blotter. His long hair, pulled back in a sloppy ponytail, flopped in a puddle around his head and Kate was pretty sure she heard awhimper.

Exchanging a glance with Castle, who looked about ready to step into the big brother/mother hen role he'd taken on since Kevin's crazy, chemical induced sex-change, she shrugged, then movement from the hall caught her eye. Esposito was, semi-frantically, trying to catch their attention without entering the room or making any noise. Seeing him gesture them towards himself, Kate raised a brow, but quietly complied, tugging on Castle's sleeve to draw him out into the hall as well.

They entered the hallway and Kate was startled when Esposito actually grabbed her by the upper arms, face kinda panicky and a little closer than most conversations called for. "Is it always going to be this bad?" he whispered, casting worried looks into the bullpen, where Ryan was still face down on the desk, lightly banging his head onto the surface.

Montgomery appeared in the doorway of his office, took one look at the Irish detective and chose discretion as the better part of valor, retreating without saying a word.

Almost as one, Kate and Rick worked out the timing and grimaced, chorusing, "Oooh…"

Esposito stopped panicking for a moment to scowl. "Yes, oh," he replied, releasing Kate with a grumbled sorry. "I Googled and he has like, every possible symptom in spades. He was kinda crabby yesterday, but yesterday sucked with Stinky coming in to confess and all."

Stinky was a local psych case who had a habit of confessing to crimes he didn't commit. They drew straws to see who would get stuck in the interview room with the shower challenged man and Ryan had lost.

That was enough to put anyone in a foul mood.

But coupled with the biology of his suddenly foreign body doing thing that, until very recently, he'd only known about in theory.

No wonder he was banging his head against the nearest hard surface and scaring the uniforms. (Who were already pretty terrified of him, after an incident involving a homophobic comment from a visiting arson detective and Ryan threatening to use a taser on the man in a very creative manner.) At the moment, they were creeping around the room, obviously trying not to draw attention to themselves.

Knowing she was going to have to take the lead in this damage control situation, Kate said, "Okay, first…."She was interrupted by the sound of her cell phone. Yanking it out of her pocket, she answered before the second ring. "Beckett."

It was the Captain. "Got a case for you. Headless floater just got fished out of the river…." He filled her in on the location of the body before wishing them luck. Clearly he'd figured out what was going on.

Grimacing, she turned to Castle and Esposito. "We've got a case," she said, causing Esposito to groan. "New plan. We head to the scene with Ryan. Castle, do you think you could stop by a pharmacy then meet us?"

The writer nodded. "Hot water bottle, Midol and Cadbury's chocolate," he said grimly, then looked at Esposito. "He set for…other things?"

Esposito blanched. "I don't know. He borrowed something from the neighbor."

"Get both," Beckett advised Castle, knowing he, as a father, would know what she meant.

As Castle headed off to the store, Kate towed a still shell shocked Esposito into the squad room. Approaching Ryan's desk, she said, "C'mon, Ryan, we got a case."

The younger detective rallied himself, lifting his head and peering at her through blood shot eyes. "Goody," he muttered and Kate winced. He was fair enough that the some of his veins were visible at the temples and the side of his neck. One of the drawbacks of having only a little more melanin than your average albino.

"Buck up," she replied, supportive in the way she had found worked since the Incident. Treating Ryan like a girl did not go over well. Not at all. "It'll take your mind off of things and I sent Castle off to get good chocolate."

He perked up a little at that and, as they made their way out of the bull pen, he asked, "Seriously though, this happens every month? How have you not killed someone?"

"It's not always so bad," she said reassuringly. "And there are tricks to dealing with the bad days. Starting with coffee. Lots and lots of coffee."

"I'm praying a bus hits me and you say coffee's going to help?"

He really sounded miserable. Poor guy. She hoped having something else to focus on would distract him. Hopefully, the cocktail of Midol, chocolate and coffee would curb some of the symptoms and he'd be able to work the case without suffering too much. Having an interesting case always helped her get through the really bad days.

And Ryan, huddled in a too big sweater that made him look even tinier than usual, was having a very bad day.


End file.
